Books

The Art of Mentoring

“The Art of Mentoring is both practical and profound. Packed with real-life examples from business and other areas of life, it offers tools that readers can use:

• To pass-on their knowledge and wisdom
• To nurture talent
• To enable people to find creative solutions to challenges

Great mentors offer people a stimulating sanctuary.

Balancing the need to be both soul-wise and street-wise, The Art of Mentoring provides a similar service. The book is ideal for leaders, managers, coaches, teachers and knowledge workers. It offers an inspiring guide to enabling people to achiever ongoing success.

The Art of Mentoring has provided the framework for many organisations that have set up mentoring programmes. Simple yet profound, it can be read at many levels. Packed with practical tools, it describes the ‘Classic Mentoring’ model that can be used to enable mentees to find creative solutions to challenges.

“Mike Pegg did more for the development of Air Miles culture than anybody else outside the organisation. This book shows why mentoring is going to be a vital ingredient in successful companies in the future. Mike’s book is a great practical introduction to the subject.”

Alan Deller, former MD of Air Miles

The Magic of Work

People want three things from work: money, meaning and magic. Money feeds the stomach; but meaning and magic feed the spirit and the soul. The Magic of Work explores one of life’s greatest adventures: how to find, follow and fulfill your vocation. Packed with tools and exercises, it shows you how to pursue your mission whilst also paying the mortgage.
“This book is a masterpiece of stimulating ideas that will enable people to flourish in the involving world of work. It is full of questions that get both to the heart of the issue and the heart of the person. Managers everywhere can use the tools to encourage people to do great work. Everybody can use the ideas to travel further on the journey towards achieving fulfillment in both their personal and professional lives.”

Stephen Harvey, Director of People & Culture, Microsoft Limited

“Incredibly practical and also inspiring. Many people want something more from life and work. This book provides the tools they can use to define and achieve their aims. I found the ideas extremely useful, both for my own development and that of my team.”

Kate Lavender, Customer Service Director, AXA PPP Healthcare Limited

“Today’s organisations face the challenge of getting more from less. The best teams, sporting and business, are made up of people undertaking roles they love. How many of our people can we say that about? Mike’s book shows us how to increase that number.”

Roy White, Vice President of HR, Sony Europe

The Super Teams Book

• How you can build a super team?
• How can you build on your peoples’ strengths?
• How can you encourage them to do superb work?
• How can you enable them to achieve the team’s picture of perfection?

Great teams are based on ’similarity of spirit and diversity of strengths’ - diversity of spirit is a recipe for disaster.

They also have the right balance of Soul Players and Star Players—they have no Semi-Detached players. Packed with exercises you can use with your team, this book goes beyond theory. It provides an inspirational yet practical approach that has been shown to actually work in organizations. The Super Teams Book is an invaluable tool you can use for guiding your people to success.

“The Super Teams Book is a great companion volume to The Magic Of Work. Being both inspirational and pragmatic, it shows how people can co-ordinate their talents to achieve success. The book goes beyond theory—it provides tools that actually work. Perhaps more importantly, the approach it outlines is transferable. Within our company, for example, leaders, managers and internal consultants have implemented the ideas to build super teams across the business. Managing a constellation of soul players and star players can be challenging, but this book shows how to make it happen.”

Stephen Harvey, Group Director, People & Culture, Microsoft Limited

“This book unravels the mysteries of building ‘Super Teams’. It offers a rich ‘toolbox’ that equips people to tackle the demands of the 21st century and some leading companies are following the principles to astonishing effect. The Super Team’s Book offers your team practical ideas and tools that they can use to achieve outstanding success.”

Sue Moore, Managing Director, Amadeus Network Limited

“Mike’s contribution at Trayport has shown that his work provides enormous benefit to small entrepreneurial companies as well as those that are large and established. Tough as well as encouraging, he really understands teams in the workplace and what he takes to create a successful culture. The Super Teams Book captures his approach and provides a wider audience with many practical tools that companies can use to achieve success.”

Alan Deller, Chairman, Trayport Limited

”Mike Pegg brings an approach to working together that is inspired, unique and invaluable. Building a Super Team is a privilege and proves that work can be truly rewarding. I believe that many teams can embark upon the journey offered in this book. By adapting the ideas in your own way, you will provide a stimulating environment for your people. The results will be profound. Your people will benefit, you will benefit and, most of all, your business will benefit.”

Amanda Mackenzie, Director, Marketing Services, BT Retail

“Mike is able to take an area that is full of theory and make it practical and relevant for all people who achieve their goals through teams. The Super Team’s approach is applicable right across our business and at all levels. It has made an impact in our organisation and will continue to do so in the future.”

Roy White, Vice President of HR, Sony Europe

The Mentor’s Book

Mentors have one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. They help people to achieve their picture of perfection. The Art of Mentoring, the earlier best-seller by Mike Pegg, showed how to facilitate a mentoring session. The Mentor’s Book moves mentoring into another dimension. Rich in real-life experiences, it provides a massive resource of practical tools that mentors can use to help people tackle many different challenges. The book covers the following:

• Classic Mentoring
• Career Mentoring
• Change Curve Mentoring
• Creative Teamwork Mentoring
• Coaching & Mentoring
• Conflict Resolution Mentoring
• Class Act Mentoring

“At Microsoft, we aim to enable great people to do their best work. Mentoring plays a vital role in enabling our people to develop their talents. This book provides an immensely practical approach to mentoring. Having already integrated many of these models into Microsoft, we are now focusing on Mike’s approach to helping individuals and teams to become a Class Act. This will help us to stay at the leading edge - both in running our business and providing an inspiring environment for our people.”

Stephen Harvey, Group Director People & Culture, Microsoft Limited

The Class Act Book

How You Can Become A Class Act

How can you find your ‘A’ talent? How can you do what you do best? How can you become a ‘Class Act’? This is a phrase used to describe somebody who consistently does brilliant work—then adds that touch of class. Such people deliver the goods at crucial moments. How do they make this happen? Class Acts start by choosing an activity in which they can excel. They then develop their character, competence, consistency and creativity. Finally, they add that touch of class.

Faced by a challenge at special moments, they become very calm. Things seem to go ’slowly yet speedily’. Finalizing their picture of perfection, they concentrate on the process as much as the prize. They then ‘climb the mountain at the top of the mountain’. Sometimes they produce magical work. Sometimes they produce a solution that seems stunningly simple, but therein lies its genius. How can you do such great work? Packed with practical tools, this book demonstrates how you can develop your ‘A’ talent and become a class act.

“At Microsoft, we aim to build an environment in which great people can do what they do best at work every day. People often do great work when they can build on their strengths–but also have the opportunity to stretch. Whether they perform in business, sports or the arts, it is vital that they identify and use their top talent. We have found that the class act approach resonates with our people. Many have taken the tools on board to ensure that they—and their teams– continue to be ‘A’ players and deliver great performances. T he Class Act Book provides many ideas that a person, team or company can use to stay ahead of the game and build a successful future.”

Stephen Harvey , Director of People & Culture , Microsoft Ltd

Strengths Coaching in 90 Minutes
(with Sue Moore)

How can you help a person to find their ‘A’ talent?

How can you then help them to build on their strengths, set specific goals and achieve success? Co-written with Sue Moore, Strengths Coaching in 90 Minutes provides a powerful repertoire of tools for helping people develop their ‘A’s, whilst also dealing with the consequences of their ‘Bs’ and ‘Cs’. It is backed up with real case studies and tried and tested, ready to use coaching exercises. Providing a fascinating insight into the art of strengths coaching from two highly experienced practitioners who have, over the last 40 years, been using the techniques provided with people in many different fields - from artists to athletes, directors to delinquents and sales people to software writers - this book provides a wealth of ideas you can take and use in your own way to help people realise their potential.

“Understanding what each of us is uniquely brilliant at, and what we’re not, can be as liberating for us as it is powerful for our employers. Sue Moore and Mike Pegg draw on thousands of hours of strength coaching to lay out the simple steps, applicable exercises and relevant case histories so that you can try this at home. Uncage yourself and your employees and read this book: it’s one of the most insightful and productive ways you can spend the next 90 minutes.”

Jon Gisby, Vice President of Media for Yahoo! Europe

“Building on people’s strengths used to be a neglected part of employee development. During the past ten years, however, many HR practitioners have implemented this approach. Philosophies come and go, but the real test is: ‘Do they work in practice?’ The strengths coaching framework described in this book is one that I have found to be extremely effective. HR practitioners will be able ‘to take the best and leave the rest’. Strengths Coaching in 90 Minutes provides many ideas and tools that can be used to develop people at every level in an organisation.”

Paul Mitford, Human Resources Director for PC World

The Strengths Way

the art of building on strengths

The Strengths Way ,tells stories of real people who have followed their vocation, found the right vehicles and done valuable work. It is also a source of practical tools and techniques to help others to follow this path in their own ways. The result of over 40 year’s work encouraging people to develop their ‘A’ talents, the book provides an inspiring compass for people, teams and organisations that want to achieve ongoing success.

“I have known Mike Pegg for years. He’s a fantastic encourager and his latest book, The Strengths Way , is filled with inspiring real-life stories and great practical exercises which really help intelligent optimists find their way.”

Gerry McNulty, writer and performer

“The Strengths Way is a great book that mixes the theoretical with the practical in a way that makes the subject accessible to anyone. The book contains many case studies of people that have decided to ‘live the dream’ and follow their passions, often taking great risks, with inspiring results. The strengths approach described in the book also works superbly inside established companies that seek to harness the abilities of their people. I have seen it at first hand—-and it works.”

Roy White, Vice President, Human Resources, Sony Europe

“Great performers play to their strengths - be it in music, sport or working life. At the same time, they find ways to compensate for their weaknesses. Over the past 6 years I have tried to follow this philosophy when leading teams and organisations. Perhaps the hardest part is helping people to find and use their real talents—the space where they can do really great work. Mike’s book provides many tools for making this happen and I have seen the benefits–both for individuals and organisations. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to find and build on people’s strengths.”

Paul Thomalla, VP EMEA, Stratus Technologies

“Mike Pegg is the great encourager, responsible for helping thousands of people to release their inner creativity. The many personal stories woven into the text are truly inspiring, as well as being instructional. The book applies to people in jobs, self employment or unpaid work. Mike says, “everybody has something special to give to the world”; this book will help you to discover just what that is. It will help you to build on your strengths and find your vocation.”

Barrie Hopson, Founder, Lifeskills International

The Strengths Toolbox

A compendium of practical tools to help managers build and develop their own strengths and the strengths of people working for them.

Comprising 70 exercises in Mike’s 3 Tips style, each easy to use, each simple to understand and each proven to work in some of the world’s most successful organisations.

Pick and mix your way through this book. Dip in anywhere and see if there is a tool that suits.

“The strengths approach is challenging, effective and particularly well suited to forward thinking, growing businesses.”

Alan Deller, Executive Chairman, Trayport Ltd